The Road from Belhaven

A Novel

By: Margot Livesey

Narrated by: Ell Potter

Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

From the New York Times best-selling author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy, a novel about a young woman whose gift of second sight complicates her coming of age in late-nineteenth-century Scotland

“Bewitching and seductive.”—Rebecca Makkai, author of I Have Some Questions for You • “A treasure: a writer who understands the magic and mysteries of the human soul."—Chris Bohjalian, author of Hour of the Witch • “This book is a cold, clear, perfect lake."—Lauren Groff, author of The Vaster Wilds

Growing up in the care of her grandparents on Belhaven Farm, Lizzie Craig discovers as a small child that she can see into the future. But her gift is selective—she doesn’t, for instance, see that she has an older sister who will come to join the family. As her “pictures” foretell various incidents and accidents, she begins to realize a painful truth: she may glimpse the future, but she can seldom change it.

Nor can Lizzie change the feelings that come when a young man named Louis, visiting Belhaven for the harvest, begins to court her. Why have the adults around her not revealed that the touch of a hand can change everything? After following Louis to Glasgow, though, she learns the limits of his devotion. Faced with a seemingly impossible choice, she makes a terrible mistake. But her second sight may allow her a second chance.

Luminous and transporting, The Road from Belhaven once again displays “the marvelous control of a writer who conjures equally well the tangible, sensory world . . . and the mysteries, stranger and wilder, that flicker at the border of that world.”—The Boston Globe

©2024 Margot Livesey (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Piercing and eloquent. . . . The prose is radiant. . . . A gem of a novel.”—The Washington Post

“Powerful and engaging. . . . Margot Livesey is no slouch when it comes to casting a mesmerizing spell with her language; one of her other indelible and pleasure-inducing trademarks is lacing her fiction with shimmers of otherworldliness. . . . Lizzie is a marvel of a character.”—Boston Globe

“Margot Livesey is an incandescent writer, generous and graceful, always imbuing her characters with astonishing humanity and grace. I love all Livesey’s books, but The Road From Belhaven has become my new favorite; I felt so deeply for Lizzie that I worried about her fate with the same love and indignation and hope I would have for a flesh-and-blood friend of my youth. This book is a cold, clear, perfect lake.”—Lauren Groff, New York Times best-selling author of The Vaster Wilds

A lovely story

I enjoyed this very much, and our narrator’s brogue was delightful, the only drawback being the on-again, off-again plugged nose, as if she had a cold while speaking.

Perfection in a book, perfection as an audiobook

Fast-moving, historically evocative, with a tangible sense of place and a believable cast of characters, this book transported me to another place and time, as only an excellent book and audiobook can. Great narration, great writing. Satisfying on every level.

Riveting story about hard choices and their consequences

This story transports you to 19th century Scotland. The beautiful setting and the thoughts of the narrator introduce the limited set of life choices for women in that time. I rooted for the protagonist and also despised some of her decisions - either way, I was emotionally invested.

The reading was beautifully done as well. A very enjoyable listen!

Bellhaven

Beautiful story, in a magical place. The characters are richly developed, realistically flawed, and very human.